


Deep Web Hitman

by CountSapphula



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2017-03-02
Packaged: 2018-09-23 02:10:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9636257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CountSapphula/pseuds/CountSapphula
Summary: The beginning of Sombra's involvement in Talon and the relationships she attempts to maintain along the way





	1. Piqued Interest

**Author's Note:**

> Passion project for a ship I don't see enough of!

There is no place for emotion in ruthlessness.

Emotion in motivation, however, is the best thing to get a job done.

The hit request didn’t mean anything significant to Sombra. She sees these kinds of things floating around all the time - sometimes for revenge, sometimes for justice, sometimes in a desperate plea. This is one of the desperate ones, and it catches her attention in a way the others couldn’t. A call to track and kill a notorious sniper under the moniker Widowmaker.

Her research fills the gaps in the story the hit request started. Widowmaker. Amélie Lacroix. Targeted due a threat her husband posed to an unsympathetic organization and twisted into their image of a brutally effective assassin. Her ‘research’ may have merely been a way to pass the time and flex her hacking skills, but this Talon group - she could use the community of an organization like that. She _is_ courting major players in this world, after all; if she’s going to uncover them, she’ll need more connections than the computer grafted to her body. If Talon is as good as they seem, they just may be her ticket to the resources she needs. She returns to the call for Widowmaker’s capture and weighs her options. If Talon has any weaknesses, any loose ends, Sombra is positive that they will lie with this woman. Breaking someone else’s humanity is no easy task. Perhaps a little meeting can answer her questions.

\---

The site of Widowmaker’s next target is a hot and humid one. Sombra idly wonders how much of an effect this would have on the assassin’s physiology as she rereads a stolen copy of the mission’s dossier. After a little digging through Talon’s files she found Widowmaker’s next kill and set herself up to intercept it. The entire operation is child’s play, really; tracking isn’t that hard, particularly when one can render themselves practically invisible. Particularly when the target isn’t expecting to be followed. Fortunately, dear Amélie isn’t counting on having a tail.

Speak of the devil.

A silhouette appears, just for a moment, at the base of the next building over. A grappling hook arcs through the air and catches smoothly on the railing. As Widowmaker soars up to the balcony Sombra leaps to action. She drops a translocator beacon and activates her thermoptics, immediately setting out to follow the sniper. She thought she had it, but several minutes in she’s reduced to muttered cursing and retracing steps. Sombra had been expecting some difficulty here - naturally, the world’s best assassin would know a thing or two about stealth - but this is ridiculous. Widowmaker may as well have disappeared, and you can’t exactly use a heat signature to find somebody whose body temperature is well below normal. All of her previous guesses of good sniper nests turned up empty, all the way to the roof. She sighs with frustration and sits on the edge of the building, angry but impressed. Perhaps Widowmaker had been expecting a tail after all - or at least went through the motions, just in case.

She almost misses the murmuring coming from the balcony just below her.

_“Allez, montre-toi.”_

She’s lining up her shot.

Sombra rushes back down the stairs to the room below. Sure enough, Widowmaker is there, her back to the door, eye to her rifle scope. A smile forms on both womans’ lips, though for vastly different reasons. Sombra blinks back into visibility, silently walking towards the oblivious sniper. Widowmaker sets her sights on her target, presses her finger to the trigger…

Her mask blacks out.

Sombra laughs audibly and flicks the back of Widowmaker’s helmet, the same spot she had been holding a single fingernail to in order to cut the circuit. She dodges a thrown elbow and pushes back the body of the rifle being swung up to hit her, ripping it out of Widowmaker’s hand and sliding it across the ground to the opposite wall. Widowmaker’s visor retracts. If it had been anyone else, that glare would be cold enough to paralyze. At her full height she practically towers over Sombra. Sombra raises an eyebrow. One of her more prideful points, to her favor, is a legendary inability to be intimidated. She merely crosses her arms, putting up a front of petty annoyance.

“Oh please, is this any way to treat a fan? And here I thought you never turned hotheaded. I guess reputation can be deceiving after all.”

“It’s the perfect way to treat a liability.” Widowmaker’s eyes narrow. “Don’t think by distracting me you can hope to save anyone, least of all yourself.” Sombra scoffs.

“You misunderstand me, _araña.”_ She examines one of her fingernails and flicks something miniscule out from under it. “I don’t care about your target. I’m curious about you.”

“You and thousands of others. I’m supposed to be impressed by what? A fool who looks for me out of nothing but curiosity?” Widowmaker takes a step forward. Sombra looks back up at her, taking on a pouty voice.

“Don’t give me that tone, Amélie.”

Widowmaker blinks. Her eyebrows furrow. She glances over at her gun on the floor and back up to the woman in front of her. “How do you-”

“Did that catch your interest? It wasn’t easy if it makes you feel better.” Her eyes light back up. Now there’s a reaction. “Relax, not just anyone is going to be able to find your files. I made sure to close the doors again on my way out.” She winks. Widowmaker is silent for a few seconds. So she can be surprised after all.

“You found me in-” 

“A hit request first,” she interrupts. “As if the notion of an assassination being attempted on an assassin isn’t hilarious on its own! You brought me to Talon, then I traced your legal name to Overwatch. And then a tragic few news stories I figured could be safely attributed to you, but I didn’t dig too much into that particular pile.” She shakes her head in mock disapproval. “Busy girl, Amélie. But it isn’t really your fault, is it?”

Widowmaker’s face twists, trying to keep something down. It only lasts a second.

“Who are you?” she finally asks.

“A humble hacker looking for answers in a cruel and unjust world.” Sombra waves her hand in a small flourish. The technological implants running down her head, back, and arms are difficult to miss. Widowmaker’s glare, if possible, hardens even more.

“And what answers does an allegedly humble hacker want from me? If you know my name, you know my history. You’re a coward if you think you’re safer soliciting me if your true sights are on Talon.”

“If you want to know what the whole is made of, you look at the links in the chain. I digress.” Sombra shrugs and turns around as though about to leave. “Your target should be just around the corner about now anyway, right? Not to doubt your mission notes or anything. You might want to get on that.” She puts her foot on the rifle and slides it back to the woman behind her. She turns around to see Widowmaker pick the gun up and aim it point blank at her, just as she activates her translocator. In a second she’s back where she started, curiosity sated.

For now, at least.

“That answers that question, doesn’t it?”

Sombra talks to herself as she starts walking. A single gunshot rings through the humid air, followed by a helicopter rising into the sky. Widowmaker’s evacuation, no doubt. Her gaze lingers on the figure climbing the grappling hook up into the aircraft. This small taste of Talon’s competence is good enough for her. Perhaps, she thinks, it’s time to send a little calling card. She pulls her screen up in front of her and arranges for her identifying symbol- her lovingly designed pixelated skull, a callback to her days in Los Muertos - to be directly planted into Talon’s databanks, along with a small message. If they’re familiar with what she’s done, how can they refuse? She chuckles quietly.

“I’ll be seeing you around, _araña.”_


	2. Unexpected Ally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Widowmaker expresses her concerns regarding a strange encounter. Talon gains a new member

“I met the strangest person the other day.”

Reaper doesn’t need to turn around to know who’s talking to him. Most of Talon’s operatives are far too intimidated to purposefully attract his attention. “Mmm?”

“This woman,” Widowmaker continues. “Apparently a hit was placed against me.”

“What made it strange?” Reaper glances to the side as Widowmaker catches up with him, matching his stride. She has her usual air of haughty indifference, though something in the curl of her brow rings with irritation.

“She was interested in Talon. She was gauging me as a test of the organization.” She’s still bitter over the implications. As if she hasn’t needed to prove herself a hundred times over within the ranks already. “She could be a danger.”

“Are you trying to tell me to be on guard?” Uncharacteristic, he thinks, of the impassive assassin to tell someone to watch themselves.

“I’m telling you to drop your usual theatrics should someone come poking around,” Widowmaker snaps. “I already informed the higher ranks to look out for her.”

“I’m not theatrical.” Widowmaker snorts. Now there’s a joke if she ever heard one.

“An argument for another day.”

“Do you know who this woman is?” Reaper isn’t too concerned. He’s more going through the questions for the other’s sake. She must have mentioned it to him for a reason, after all. Neither of them are big on idle conversation. Widowmaker doesn’t respond for a few seconds.

“A hacker. A competent one, I would assume, given she alluded to breaking into Talon’s files.”

“No name?”

“She didn’t say.” She pauses. “She knew mine.”

“Ah.”

They walk in silence for another minute. Reaper turns down the adjacent hall, but stops and turns back before Widowmaker can continue on.

“Someone must have listened to you. I heard they brought in a new recruit earlier. Also a hacker. There was some mention of technological reinforcement.” His gaze shifts further down the hall. “That must be her now.”

Widowmaker barely has time to turn around before she hears a very familiar voice.

_“¿Qué onda?”_

She stares down the same woman who, just a couple days prior, had interfered with her mission out of nothing more but a vaguely worded curiosity. The hacker has the same carefree aura. The same smug grin. The same overconfident persona just begging to be knocked down a peg or two.

“You must be the infamous Reaper. And Widowmaker! How lovely to see you again.” She slips Widowmaker a knowing smile, which is met with poorly concealed revulsion. How brazen does she have to be, bringing up their meeting in front of a presumably clueless third person? Could she really be so reckless… or had she been listening in before revealing herself? Widowmaker’s confusion doesn’t seem to affect the other girl at all. She holds her hand out. “Sombra. You don’t know how much of a pleasure it is to be here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and to the point! Next update will show more Widowmaker/Sombra content


	3. Paranoia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Widowmaker confronts Sombra and demands to know what her business with Talon is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to keep to a weekly update on late Wednesday/early Thursday, but I'm three chapters ahead of schedule and at this rate I'm gonna finish way earlier than I ever thought possible  
> A for effort!

_Sombra._

The name hangs heavy in her mind. It’s been nearly a week since the hacker joined Talon’s ranks, and Widowmaker hasn’t known peace ever since. As if to rub salt in the already burning wound, none of her concerns were taken seriously.

_“It’s a matter of similar interests.”_

_“Sombra will be an asset to us.”_

_“This isn’t something you need to worry about.”_

_“It isn’t your place to question our decisions.”_

Normally she would accept this deferral, but something about Sombra doesn’t sit right with her. Her heels click against the floor as she walks down the hall. If nobody else is willing to take action, she’ll find out what the woman is up to herself.

\---

Sombra jumps as her door slams open. Frankly, she’s surprised it’s still on its hinges. Her display screen disappears from her fingertips in an instant, though she relaxes back into her chair when she sees who it is.

“Is knocking not a common policy around here?”

“I don’t know what your game is,” Widowmaker all but hisses, “but you will _not_ get away with it!” Sombra chuckles and brings her screen back up in front of her, idly poking at the light display.

“Try not to read too deep into it, you’ll strain your pretty little eyes.”

“Why are you really here?” She steps right up in front of Sombra, bending forward to cast a shadow over her airborne display. Her attempts at intimidation go unnoticed, and frankly uncared for.

“You asked Talon already, I’m assuming? I’m sure they told you. Tech work and intel. It’s kind of what I’m known for?”

“Why are you _really_ here,” she repeats, absolutely venomously. “What’s your interest with Talon?” Sombra finally sighs and looks up.

“Use your head, _Azul._ Why does anyone join forces with another?” She stops talking as though waiting for Widowmaker’s response, then starts again as soon as Widowmaker opens her mouth. “Mutual benefit. Talon could use a hacker who’s a solid cut above the rest, and I could use the opportunity it affords me. That’s all there is to it.” Widowmaker scoffs.

“You expect me to believe that?”

“I don’t expect you to believe anything. Hell, I don’t need you to. If you were able to get rid of me, I wouldn’t be here right now. Simple as that.” Sombra returns her attention to her display. Widowmaker is fuming. Who does Sombra think she is, dismissing her like this??? She swipes her hand through the light display. She doesn’t actually know if sticking something through the hologram screen will make it go away, but her bluff is somewhat rewarded when Sombra sighs and turns it back off.

“Your persistent attention is flattering, but I’m a little busy here. Do you mind?”

“You can’t hide your true intentions forever, Sombra.” Her lip twists in a disgusted scowl. “Nobody here could believe for a minute that all you’re interested in is furthering Talon.” Sombra raises her eyebrows and gives Widowmaker a deliberate grin.

“Widowmaker, I’m willing to guarantee the only person in this building not working in their own interest is you.”

“You know that isn’t what I meant-” Her voice betrays the frenzied frustration bubbling just below her skin.

“Look.” Sombra cuts her off as she stands up and kicks her chair back a few inches. She’s still almost painfully shorter than the other woman, something that bothers her just a little. “It’s not like I’m asking for any sort of charity here, and I sure as hell don’t need your approval. So how about you don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong and you can rest assured that you, personally, won’t have any problems from me, ok?”

“Rich, coming from someone whose career is built on sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong,” Widowmaker snorts. Sombra shrugs.

“It isn’t anything personal. If anything I’m doing the world a service.”

“Consider yourself under close watch. If you try anything - I’ll know.”

“I suppose I should wish you better luck than everyone else who’s tried to do that, shouldn’t I? I’ll clue you in on a little something though. Few of them lasted very long. And I am notoriously hard to corner.”

“Is that a threat?”

“What do you think?”

Both women spend several tense seconds staring at each other, waiting for the other to crack. Neither do.

“Is that all, _mi araña pequeña?”_

“Don’t think you’re off the hook so easily.”

“Goodness, I hope not. Where’s the fun in that?”

Widowmaker abruptly turns back towards the door. It’s impossible to get the last word against her. What’s the use in trying? She can hear the self-satisfied grin in Sombra’s voice.

“Love our little talks!”

Widowmaker’s mind spins as she walks back into the hall, Sombra’s door closing behind her.

_“It’s a matter of similar interests.”_ Countless alliances can be forged out of similar interests, but the enemy of the enemy is not always a friend.

_“Sombra will be an asset to us.”_ How can they be so sure?

_“This isn’t something you need to worry about.”_ Someone needs to.

_“It isn’t your place to question our decisions.”_ It isn’t her place in the slightest, and she’s never done so before, but her doubt about Sombra has flourished like nothing else.

Widowmaker shakes her head. This fog permeating her mind won’t achieve anything. Sombra can only play this game for so long. Luckily, a perfect assassin’s patience never wears thin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plenty of pent-up distrust, but things will take a sweeter turn sooner than you think! I'd also like to thank all of you for your encouraging words and sweet comments, it's wonderful to know you're enjoying reading my work as much as I enjoy writing it! I hope you continue to enjoy it going forward!


	4. Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sombra acclimates to life with Talon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Screw the schedule I'm almost done writing the entire thing anyway. Got some sweeter SpiderByte content in this one!

Sombra had recently returned from a solitary mission when she passes by Widowmaker’s open door. Odd - usually she kept her room locked. Sombra chances a peek in. Widowmaker is sitting on her bed, gun leaning against the wall. She can’t have gotten back too long ago either - she’s still wearing her visor, and her boots are scuffed and dusty. She looks rather forlorn by herself. The past couple weeks had done nothing to improve the assassin’s opinion of Sombra, which she knows all too well, but she can’t help but stop to check in. She knocks twice on the doorframe.

“You ok in there?” Widowmaker looks up without any of her typical disdain for the hacker.

“Straining mission. I’ll be fine.”

“You sure? You seem a little… down.” Sombra steps inside.

“Why are you so concerned?” There’s that familiar tone of dulled irritation.

“What, am I not allowed to ask about the wellbeing of a co-worker?” Sombra scoffs. To her surprise, Widowmaker’s lips twitch into a cold hint of a smile.

“This isn’t the kind of place where people care all that much about each other, _ma chérie.”_

“Cutesy nicknames, huh?” Sombra raises her eyebrow with a mischievous grin. “Given your track record that’s as good as an entry on a hit list.”

“I’m not in the mood for your needling today.” Widowmaker looks back down. Sombra frowns. Something about the way the light just bounced off Widow’s visor didn’t look right. She walks over and presses two fingers to Widowmaker’s jaw to turn her head.

“Your helmet is dented pretty badly.”

“Really? I didn’t notice.”

“Was it Tracer? You two have had some trouble in the past.” Widowmaker snorts. This combined softness and what she assumes to be false cluelessness is really too much right now.

“Am I to believe you didn’t come in knowing this already?” She pulls back from Sombra’s hand. It’s odd, sitting there and looking up into her eyes rather than down. Sombra holds both hands up in mock-surrender.

“I genuinely didn’t.” A few seconds of silence. “So… It _was_ Tracer, yeah?”

“Yes.” Widowmaker shakes her head. “I’m not sure if she still believes in some good in me, but her hatred of my actions make it a moot point.”

“That’s downright friendly compared to what she gives me. There’s something about me she just _hates.”_ Sombra switches to a mocking tone with an overly cheerful demeanor and heavily exaggerated English accent to match. _“Wouldn’t be a problem if you just disappeared forever!”_ She shakes her head and turns her attention back to the dented visor. “You haven’t taken it off yet. Are you hurt?”

“Bruised, probably. She hit me with the heel of her gun as I was on my way out. I’ll be fine.”

“Good. Can’t have Talon’s only decent sniper out of commission, can we?” Her chuckle is cut short when a taller shadow falls over her. Widowmaker shifts her gaze.

“Reaper,” she nods. Sombra’s expression falls into an annoyed slouch.

“Wow, I was wondering why it suddenly felt like despair in here. What do you need, Gabe?”

“Nothing from you.”

“Leave, then.”

“I need to talk to Widowmaker.”

“Go on, hurry up.”

_“Alone.”_

“Please,” Sombra snorts. “There are two types of secrets that crawl around here. The first kind has a digital trace that I can always get my hands on. The second is cheap gossip.”

“One would think cheap gossip would be right up your alley,” Reaper challenges.

“I deal in cold hard facts, thank you. Though it’s hardly my fault everyone on the other end of my blackmail is questionable enough that they have a few false rumors spreading.”

“Sombra.” Widowmaker gives her a pointed look. Sombra sighs with an extra dose of exaggerated dejection.

“Fine, fine. Watch that head of yours, _araña.”_ Reaper looks at Widowmaker after Sombra’s halfway down the hall.

“Getting cozy with her now?”

“I don’t need any needling from you either,” she snaps, standing up and taking her visor off. She’ll need to see about getting that dent fixed. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“Nothing. You looked like you wanted her to leave. How’s your head?”

“For all you complain about her, you ask the same questions she does.” Reaper’s mask doesn’t change, but Widowmaker can feel how offended the statement makes him by principle. “You go too. I don’t care for company.”

She retreats to her bathroom as Reaper leaves. The disheveled woman in the mirror glares back at her. She raises her hand to her head, but not to the bruise forming by her hairline. She swears she can still feel a static residue from Sombra’s fingers on her cheek. She still doesn’t trust Sombra, naturally, but she’s rather surprised by the concern shown just minutes earlier. She shakes her head. Not that it changes anything. She refuses to entertain for a second that Sombra might genuinely care for anyone here. What a fool she must be, trying to appeal to _her_ of all people. How can she expect to exploit emotions that don’t exist?

Widowmaker peels off her catsuit and turns the shower on. The mission’s fatigue is easily washed away, but the phantom touch on her jaw stubbornly remains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact - I originally intended to write this more from Sombra's side, but Widowmaker's part in this is too interesting to pass up. More of the later chapters end on her note too


	5. Crisis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sombra finds something unusual in Talon’s network

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now things start heating up

“Let’s get started.”

Sombra leans over the keyboard and starts digging into Talon’s files. A couple lesser Talon operatives had reportedly found something suspicious and immediately were told to go find her. Just like playing tech support in her youth, she thinks. Whatever. It’s not like she has anything better to do.

“What was it you saw, exactly?” The men behind her exchange uncertain glances.

“We aren’t… sure, exactly,” one of them finally utters. Sombra rolls her eyes and pulls up a couple of her own hologram screens.

“Content? Activity? Something not where you thought it would be?”

“Activity,” another blurts out. “Something we weren’t doing. The window disappeared in a second, none of us saw what it said.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t just someone with override control moving a few things around?” She shakes her head as she types. Before either of the people behind her can speak, she brings up an activity log. “Let’s see what we have here, then.”

Both men are too nervous to look over her shoulder, but neither of them miss her murmured confusion.

“Hmmm… that’s odd.”

One of them finally bites.

“What… is it?”

“Someone is downloading files from a signature that doesn’t match anything I’m familiar with here.”

“Oh.” A few seconds of silence. “What does that mean for us?”

“It means,” Sombra says, barely paying attention to them, “that either someone brought a new laptop and wants to review some profiles, or your security has a leak. Entirely possible given I haven’t look at it since I got here. Not for a lack of effort and _very consistent_ reminders on my part.”

She hits a button on her display and closes it, leaving the work to Talon’s monitors. Her program set to trace the location of the download destination shouldn’t take long.

She frowns when the screen flickers. Great time for the power to start failing. It flickers again and she curses while clenching her palms over the desk. It flickers a third time, this time showing an image of an eye in the few short seconds the screen is black. The blood drains from Sombra’s face. It can’t be. Not again.

She sees herself just a few years back, sitting at her desk, looking at the mismatched collection of monitors she had rescued and integrated into her own computer system. The eye. The threats. The conspiracy she had stumbled backward into that forced her to rebuild her very existence from the ground up for the second time in her life.

Surely it couldn’t have found her again… could it?

The eye motif glitches out and shows a corrupted image of her own symbol. The message couldn’t be clearer. _We know where you are. We know what you’re doing. You can’t hide from us forever._

On impulse she sends an EMP through the whole building. Every electronic system aside from her own is forced off. The two men behind her fidget uncomfortably.

“Is… is everything-”

“Fine,” she interrupts, already on her way out. “I’ll inform command. Don’t touch anything.”

Reaper catches her rushing through the now dark halls. Around them countless other Talon operatives are sticking their heads out of their doors, muttering with confusion, not daring to flag either of them down for an answer. Rather than try to stop her to talk, he falls in step next to her.

“What’s going on?”

“Security breach. Nothing you need to worry about.”

“Yes it is. What kind of breach?”

“Technological. They were targeting me, so _don’t worry about it.”_

“... Who, exactly?”

“I’ll fill you in later.”

“Really.”

_“Get off my ass, Gabe.”_ Sombra’s tone is near enough to make Reaper stop in his tracks. He’s heard plenty of pride, sarcasm, and indignation come from her, but never has he seen her lash out like this.

“What’s going on Sombra?”

“It’s like I never said anything at all,” she gripes. “You want to make yourself useful? Wait until I get this figured out.”

“You _will_ tell me if there’s trouble?” It’s about the closest he’s ever gotten to admitting concern for someone else since he joined Talon’s ranks.

“REYES!”

Reaper takes the hint (about time, Sombra grumbles) and falls back. Sombra quickly disappears down the adjacent hall and through the doors to the command center. The collective head of Talon will doubtless be extremely interested in what she has to say.

\---

“In short, I believe the breach to be a message from the same people who targeted my activity and drove me underground.” Sombra had laid her theory at the foot of Talon’s directing board. The bare minimal, of course - she didn’t believe for a second that Talon itself was exempt from the network she had dedicated herself to unmasking. Whether it’s a knowing and active part is another story altogether, and one that she’s willing to wait on.

“Intriguing,” one of the directors says, clearly skeptical of her story. “Awfully convenient none of this can be traced with the entirety of our system offline.”

“You knew the risk of taking me on,” she counters. “My reputation outweighed it in your eyes, and frankly the work I’ve done for you is invaluable to you and we all know it.”

“So what do you propose to do?”

“I lay low,” she declares. The key to getting what you want is to speak it as though it’s already truth. “Temporarily, of course. They will probably expect me to be here under your security, or at the very least see it as a possibility. From an undisclosed location I’ll work on tracing the signal they planted here and update you as needed.” After a moment of hesitation she adds, “Reaper and Widowmaker come with me. More than anyone here they know how I operate. If anyone opposed to me were to stage an interrogation on one or both of them, there’s no guarantee that information would be safe.” A silent, selfish part of her just wants to keep them out of potential harm altogether. That’s what you do when you have other people who watch your back, right? You band together. She remembers her youth, back in Dorado. You couldn’t get anywhere without the numbers afforded by a community, no matter what that community happened to be. Her reverie is interrupted when a different board member speaks up.

“Do you say this out of doubt for their constitution or doubt for their loyalty?”

“It doesn’t matter. We don’t know what we’re dealing with here. Any cautionary measures that can be taken are relevant. All the debate aside, this is what it comes down to. Either you grant me this, or you lose me as a member and an ally. Given your stealth success rates before and after I joined, I don’t think you’re willing to take the loss.”

“Most of our agents wouldn’t dare to threaten one board member, much less all of us at once,” another says. The amusement in her voice is poorly concealed.

“Tenacity is a good thing to have in a field agent,” she grins. “Are we at an agreement?”

“I do believe we are.”

“We’ll be in touch, then.” Sombra pulls her display screen up as soon as she’s back out the doors and brings her communication feed for Reaper and Widowmaker online.

“Widowmaker. Reaper. Get ready to go. We’re taking a little vacation.”


	6. Accusation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Widowmaker expresses her initial distrust of Sombra, but later considers a new perspective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy :)

Sombra’s lips press together in a tight line. It isn’t often she expresses genuine frustration, but these kinds of circumstances don’t occur often either. Not just the fact that she’s piloting a helicopter with all but essential functions shut down, but Widowmaker isn’t usually so insistent on knowing the reasoning behind her actions.

“Let me get this straight,” she starts.

“I already told you the story,” Sombra says, trying to keep a level tone.

“You call that disjointed collection of details a story?”

“It was the short version Widow, we don’t really have time for the long one.”

“Make time. You’re demanding we leave Talon for an undisclosed location on what I can’t see as anything other than a whim.”

“We are going to Dorado,” Sombra starts, “And we are leaving because I have good reason to believe the same people who found me before I took on this alias know I’ve joined Talon and specifically informed me of this. I’m going to try to track the signature from their message to its origin and I need to do this from a place outside their umbrella. You two are coming with me because personally, I also think Talon is somehow involved in this network. Consciously or not, I don’t know. But you two know the way I work best and that isn’t information I can afford falling into the wrong hands.”

“Isn’t Dorado risky?” Reaper asks. “Places with personal connections are the first places to avoid in these situations. Did you have a plan at all before we left?”

“What plan? You know I always wing it with these things. Besides, Dorado also has a street gang that owes me some favors and enough familiarity that we won’t look like complete tourists.” She glances back at the other two for a moment. “I won’t, at least. The owl skull mask and blue skin will have to stay inside.”

“Distrust and paranoia,” Widowmaker scoffs. “And this was allowed?”

“Believe it or not, yes. Now both of you shut up so I can focus on flying this thing.”

\---

Landing a significant enough distance outside Dorado as to not attract any undue attention goes without a hitch, and the car with directions to the safehouse Sombra requested from _Los Muertos_ is right where it’s supposed to be. The ride is long and surprisingly silent for all the debate in the helicopter. Sombra can feel Widowmaker’s eyes on the back of her head. It’s just like their return trips from the missions she took some liberties with the plan on. At least the sunset is a lovely sight. Dorado is welcoming her back home.

Settling into the safehouse is a much faster affair. It’s small but comfortable and well stocked. Sombra’s contacts knew exactly what she was after. Reaper and Widowmaker have only just enough time to find their rooms before Sombra passes by, sounding more relaxed than either of them have heard in awhile.

“How does dinner sound? I’ve got a great recipe that I’ve been dying to try- ok, Widowmaker, if there’s something you want to say spit it out. You’ve been staring at me like that all evening.”

“You really want to hear what I have to say?” Widowmaker asks. Sombra raises her eyebrows. _Duh. Go on._ Widowmaker mirrors her expression. “I don’t believe you.”

“... What?”

“I said I don’t believe you. About any of this.” She throws her hand up. “The breach. The danger. The need to leave Talon. I think you orchestrated a false emergency to lure us out. You separated Talon from its best agents so you could begin to dismantle it from the inside out. And how clever an alibi, to keep yourself with us to claim no responsibility. But not clever enough.”

“Huh!” Sombra gives a short laugh. “Come on, you don’t really think I went to all those lengths to do something I could achieve with a simple lockdown?”

“You said it yourself, Sombra. You have something following you from your past, that’s believable enough to concede. But you never cared for Talon. You went out of your way to assess me as an example of the organization’s power. You admit just a few hours ago, you believe Talon is part of something bigger. Something you want to dismantle.” Sombra’s nonchalant expression fades into one of affront.

“I’m not lying to you Widow, I don’t know what I can do to convince you.”

“Try not playing us for fools next time.” Her voice is completely venomous.

“You think I consider you a fool? I’m trying to protect you!” Sombra stares at Widowmaker in shock and disbelief. “You don’t know who these people are! _I_ barely know who these people are! They found me once already and I had to erase and rebuild my _life_ because of it. They’re dangerous-”

“Dangerous,” Widowmaker sneers. “Yet you admit you have no idea who it is you’re dealing with. And the rest of Talon is supposed to suffer for it? Because someone scared a little girl in Mexico off the map years ago? Don’t lie to us, Sombra. You weren’t protecting anyone but yourself.” Sombra falls silent for a few seconds.

“You can’t understand.” There’s a hint of a deep tremble in her voice, unbefitting of her usual brash attitude. “This… this _thing_ is bigger than anything you’ve seen before, I guarantee.”

“And yet you still insisted on seeking it out. It found you Sombra, isn’t that what you wanted?” Sombra takes a deep breath and turns towards the door. The light glints off her watery eyes as she gives Widowmaker one last wounded look.

“Leave then. Take your chance. Forgive me, Mrs Lacroix, if I don’t want to end up like you.” She walks out. The front door slams shut. How idiotic, she thinks, to expect that this place could hold anything but bitter memories for her.

\---

_I don’t want to end up like you._ The words still echo in Widowmaker’s head hours later. An ice-cold flame grips her heart, choking her up in an oddly familiar way. Reaper moves into her peripheral vision, silent as ever.

“That wasn’t right,” she spits out, blaming her difficulty speaking on rage. “She wasn’t supposed to do _that.”_

“What are you talking about?” Reaper asks. He vaguely knows what she’s trying to say, but she’s never going to address it if it isn’t put into definite terms.

_“Sombra!_ It doesn’t add up! I told you about what she did when we first met, you heard her in the helicopter, you _know_ she’s only doing this to tear Talon down-”

“Widowmaker.” His demanding tone silences her. She looks at him with surprise and confusion. She didn’t expect Reaper of all people to disagree with her claims. “You need to look beyond your instinctive loyalty.”

“What are you playing at? Don’t pretend you trust her any more than I do. She admitted that she doesn’t care for Talon in the slightest-”

“Which doesn’t mean she’s actively trying to sabotage it,” he interrupts. “Do you think I initially joined out of loyalty for the cause? I had my ulterior motives. Everyone does when they look for a place like Talon.” Sombra’s voice pulls at Widowmaker’s memory again. _I’m willing to guarantee the only person in this building not working in their own interest is you._

“You think she’s telling the truth?” Widowmaker challenges.

“For once, yes.”

“I can’t accept that.”

“I know you can’t. So take Talon out of the equation. A skilled infiltrator doesn’t just leave a mission site because they get scared. Nor do they bring two equally skilled agents without so much as taking their weapons.” Widowmaker glares at him.

“That doesn’t make sense. Talon _has_ to be involved.”

“The reason it doesn’t make sense is because it’s being driven by the thing you lack. Think on it.”

Reaper leaves the room, and Widowmaker to her thoughts. At first she brushes Reaper’s words off. Then she rethinks them. And overthinks them. She can’t see the reason behind Sombra’s actions from up close (nothing unusual there), but how many times has she seen this specific brand of irrationality play out from the other side of her rifle scope? The fear, the determination, the refusal to leave another behind? Reaper, she realizes, was right. It may be the travel exhaustion, it may be from a lack of food, it may be due to the prospect of an indefinite separation from Talon, but Widowmaker feels a numb, hollow emptiness at the prospect of having betrayed Sombra’s trust as greatly as she just did. It’s similar to the emptiness she feels when she faces her past betrayal in a particular cemetery in Annecy, France.

The front door creaks open. Widowmaker looks up, hoping to see Reaper. It’s Sombra’s violet eyes that pierce her own, heavy under furrowed brows and smeared eyeshadow. She looks away almost immediately. It’s more painful when the situation isn’t a distant, blurry memory. Gérard never condemned her - he was never given the chance.

Gérard could never stare back.


	7. Regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Widowmaker attempts to fix things with Sombra. Sombra must overcome her own defenses against perceived betrayal

Sombra’s initial silence seems more stubborn than anything. Widowmaker keeps expecting to hear her gloating down the hall. Reaper waits for her inevitable dig at his inability to keep still in the languid atmosphere. They wait for her laugh, for her crooked grin, for her to joke with them about the ridiculous ease with which she’s breaking apart the security system she’s working on.

Days pass. Her silence remains.

Sombra’s determination exists for her at the expense of everything else. She refuses to acknowledge Widowmaker and barely talks to Reaper. Track the signal. Trace the location. Reach dead ends again and again. Build a web of people and companies suspected to be part of the conspiracy she’s researching. Group together the most likely connections. Sleep for a few hours. Pick at the fridge. Lather, rinse, repeat. The routine occupies every waking moment and the frustration of slow progress combines with the weight of Widowmaker’s outburst. She may be unreliable at best, difficult to work with, and a nightmare to pin down, but she always holds herself accountable among allies. How could that be so difficult to see?

It’s late in the evening when Sombra, glued to her display interface while working on the couch, sees Widowmaker hanging back in the hall out of the corner of her eye. She pretends not to notice even as her previously nicknamed Favorite Spider slips into the room and sits on the edge of the couch cushion.

“Sombra, I think… We should talk.” No answer. “This isn’t right. This isn’t how things should be between us.” Sombra snorts behind her display screen.

“Oh, please. You never liked being around me. You don’t need to insult me more by pretending otherwise.”

“You know it isn’t as simple as that.”

“Do I?” She pulls up another two screens. “It always has to be _complicated,_ doesn’t it?” Widowmaker gets the distinct impression that Sombra is talking to herself more than she is in the conversation.

“We had something before... this.” That’s enough to get Sombra’s full attention. She closes her display and looks straight at Widowmaker.

“We had something.” She shakes her head. “You damn well fooled me then, didn’t you? _I don’t want to hear it,”_ she snaps as Widowmaker opens her mouth. “You made your stance clear, and frankly, I’m already tired of working on uncovering the identities behind the breach. I don’t need whatever smug reply you have to shove in. The faster I get this cracked the sooner you can go back to your normal perfect life at Talon so why don’t you just let me work, ok?”

Widowmaker takes the cue, leaving Sombra to her once again expanded display screens and furious typing. Reaper is leaning against the table in the kitchen, waiting for her.

“Not going well?”

“See for yourself.” Widowmaker sighs. “It feels… wrong.”

“What does?”

“Her anger. What I did to cause it. The fact that I regret it.” She raises her fingers to her temples. “She isn’t going to forgive me for this, is she?”

“What will you do if she doesn’t?” Widowmaker falls silent.

“I don’t know, Gabriel. I think it’s already too late.”

\---

Reaper had recently taken to passing the night hours outside. The cool air brought back memories of younger days, when tragedy was nothing but a distant spot in his unknown future. Nostalgia is only one part of what brings him out tonight. The other is the woman sitting on the edge of the roof.

“I’m not in the mood.” Sombra speaks up before Reaper can so much as open his mouth.

“Not in the mood for what?”

“Whatever you’re about to say in her defense.”

“I’m not taking sides.”

“Sure.” Reaper sits next to Sombra without another word. Ever since her argument with Widowmaker she had been spending more time up on the roof, using stargazing and fresh air as half baked and frankly unnecessary excuses. The two spend a few minutes in silence. Eventually, Reaper tilts his head to her. “You trusted her.” Sombra stiffens.

“I’m not talking about this.”

“She hasn’t left, you know.”

“Why should that matter to me anymore?”

“You’ll regret it if you don’t resolve it with her.” The melancholic twinge in his voice catches her attention.

“You sound like you’re starting to pull out some baggage, old man. I think being here is dragging too much of your past out. The Reaper isn't supposed to be sentimental.”

“Don’t pretend like you don’t know what happened to me.” Sombra shakes her head with a small smile.

“You know me well, Gabe.”

“Well enough.”

Of course, Sombra did know what he was referring to. Her fight with Widowmaker must hold some damning similarities to his estrangement from his former friends and partner.

“Sorry you lost him. It must have been hell.”

“It was. For both of us.” He looks up to the stars. “Betrayal doesn’t heal on its own.”

“So you’re suggesting I try to repair things with Widow.”

“You’ll feel better if you talk to her.”

“Does she get a pep talk too?”

“She already got hers.” Sombra snorts.

“And what, suddenly because of you she feels remorseful now?”

“Guilty, actually.”

“About what?”

“Sombra.” Reaper looks directly at her and waits for her to return his gaze. “You panicked when you noticed the breach and the similarities it had with your previous conspiracy scare yet you still committed to getting Widowmaker and myself out of a potential line of fire.”

“Get to the point, _abuelo._ You even ramble like an old man,” she interrupts. Reaper chooses to ignore her dig at his age. Besides, as she herself said earlier, he _does_ know her relatively well - well enough to know she uses humor to cover sentimentality.

“You care about us,” he continues bluntly. “And for all the grief you give us, we don’t want to see you getting hurt either.” Sombra’s previously hard expression melts. Of course she considered Reaper and Widowmaker to be genuine friends, but she never imagined either of them would voice an appreciation for her. On the contrary - these past few days, she had only grown more convinced they never cared at all. She turns away for a couple minutes to recompose herself.

“… Thanks, Gabe.”

“You’ll talk to her?”

“Maybe. In the morning.” Reaper grunts, satisfied. “But don’t get your hopes up.”

The silence between them is a little more comfortable now.

“Did you think I was lying about the breach?” She has to make sure.

“No.”

“You aren’t just saying that to spare my feelings, right?”

“Since when do I look like the kind of guy to spare anyone’s feelings?” Sombra can’t help but laugh at his deep wannabe-threatening tone.

“Fair point, fair point!” A comfortable smile rests on her face well after her laughter dies down. “Hey, joking aside, I really am sorry this whole arrangement is keeping you locked in like this. But I still figure it’s better than like, some isolated sheep farm in Iceland.”

“Much better,” he agrees.

After a few seconds of silence, Sombra sighs. “It used to be nicer. Or so I’m told. I wasn’t very old when this place was hit by the Omnic Crisis. I haven’t given up on it.”

“Your first mission under Talon was here, wasn’t it?” Reaper recalls. Sombra nods.

“LumériCo. Their promise to Mexico sounded too good to be true. As it turns out, it was.” Her lips twist bitterly. “Abusing the people’s trust and lining their own pockets. Portero got what he deserved.”

“You place a lot of weight on accountability.”

“You need to in this world. Everyone has their reasons for acting the way they do but it’s when you deny or lose sight of what yours are that you’ve lost yourself. And I think that’s probably the most devastating thing anyone can lose.”

Reaper is surprised at how sobering Sombra’s words are, if only because he knows that he, Sombra, and Widowmaker know the truth of them better than most. “Yeah. I suppose you’re right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had fun with the conversations here. Hope you all enjoy!


	8. Reconciliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sombra and Widowmaker come to terms with one another

A new tension hangs in the air the morning after Sombra’s talk with Reaper. It’s easy to talk about confrontation and forgiveness but it’s a different thing altogether when neither party is accustomed to using either of those things to solve a conflict.

Widowmaker looks up as soon as she hears Sombra down the hall. She had spent the night in a fitful sleep on the couch, and the other girl doesn’t look like she had slept much better. Sombra quietly sits on the couch next to Widowmaker, though she doesn’t meet her gaze.

“I guess we should talk,” she finally says.

“Yes, we should.” The silence only lasts a few seconds, but everything seems to stretch out in the middle of regret. “I’m sorry I doubted you.”

“Why now?” Sombra looks up, her brows knit with grief and incredulity. This blatant display of her feelings is enough to make her cringe. She had promised herself she would keep her cool. “Did you really think I was trying to _sabotage_ you? Ignoring the fact that if I did, this would be a really shitty way to do it?”

“You’re right. This would have been a horrible plan, You’re smarter than that.”

“Stop with the flattery. I want the truth. Just give me that and we can be done with this.”

“The truth,” Widowmaker repeats. “Very well. I’ll put it as best as I can.” As if she hadn’t spent half of her sleepless night thinking of this very subject. “You’re a mystery to me, Sombra. Your… vivacity, your spontaneity, the pure _feeling_ driving you. It’s the opposite of what I was… designed to be.” She clears her throat. “I could not help but feel threatened. My programming would not have allowed otherwise. My loyalty to Talon was forced for a reason. I saw somebody trying to tear the organization apart. I jumped to protect it.” Sombra’s expression starts to soften but her voice still has an edge.

“And what is it you see now that changed your mind?”

“I see the woman. I see her past struggle. I see her ambition. I see her loyalty to herself and the few who she truly associates herself with.” She pauses and inhales, taking a second to find the right words. “I spend so much time observing the affection and grief others hold for my targets. It never occurred to me that the same kind of feeling could be held in regard to myself.” She carefully twines her fingers in Sombra’s, gentle enough to allow her to pull away. She doesn’t. “I so rarely see people beyond the shallow caricatures I build in their place. After all you have done to try to keep us safe, you deserve more than to be a silhouette in my eyes.”

Sombra’s shields melt away. Her shoulders slouch, her eyes lower until her gaze focuses on her own dark hand in a pale blue one. She barely has the willpower left to berate herself about her own vulnerability. “Why the big change in outlook though? You aren’t exactly the forgiving type.” Widowmaker is silent for a few seconds.

“I finally found the pattern in your actions, I suppose. That’s the only way I could understand you. You don’t seem nearly so irrational now”

“Well damn,” Sombra says with her usual carefree affectation, a little more forced than it usually sounds. “How am I supposed to push your buttons now?”

“I’m sure you’ll find a way,” Widowmaker dryly replies. Sombra laughs lightly.

“I better hope so. That’s half the fun of the job, you know.”

“I liked you better when you were angry.”

“That’s a lie and we both know it.” Widowmaker shakes her head, though there’s humor in her eyes. After a minute of silence Sombra finally looks up from their clasped hands. “Thanks, Amélie.”

“For what?” she asks. Sombra gestures vaguely with her free hand.

“This I guess. Whatever.”

Sombra may have not given much detail, but Widowmaker knows exactly what she means. The refusal to speak to one another had been wearing on both girls more than either of them wanted to admit. Sombra looks back down at their hands. Widowmaker’s feels warmer in hers than it did a few minutes ago.

“Do you ever miss it?”

“Miss what?” There’s a light innocence in Widowmaker’s voice that Sombra can’t remember ever hearing before. It’s a nice change, she thinks.

“Your past. Pre-Talon.”

“You mean my husband,” Widowmaker finishes. “I suppose I do in a manner of speaking. As much as I can in this state. Why do you ask?” Sombra shakes her head.

“It’s so foreign to me. I don’t have anything like that to look back on. I wonder if it would change anything if I did.”

“Perhaps. Perhaps not.”

“Would you go back to it if you could?” Widowmaker muses on the question for a minute.

“There isn’t much use in thinking about that now, is there? The past should be left to the past.” Sombra manages half a smile. Exactly her own philosophy.

“Right where it belongs. Building a future is what needs more energy anyway.”

“What do you expect to build now?” Sombra takes her turn mulling over her answer.

“I’m still focused on my little pet project. The truth needs to be found. Not just for my sake.”

“Ever the philanthropist.” Widowmaker’s tone has less bite and more humor. “I hope you don’t discount Reaper and myself from your vision.”

“Oh? What part do you see yourself taking in my vision?” Sombra leans forward.

“With how little regard you hold for your safety? You need somebody to watch your back out there.” The expression on Widowmaker’s face is far from a smile, but there’s a definite smug tone to it.

“Excuse you _Azul,_ it’s confidence in my abilities, not a lack of regard for my safety!”

“Whatever you want to call it,” she shrugs. “You’re in my scope now. Who better to watch your back than someone who knows the way you work best?” Widowmaker’s repeat of Sombra’s own words doesn’t escape her notice.

“Who better, indeed.” Sombra relaxes, reveling in her newfound sense of safety. On the other side, Widowmaker feels a peace she hasn’t felt in a long time. Despite their distant pasts and misgivings of the present, this newfound closeness gives them a little more security than either of them thought possible.

_“Gracias, mi araña.”_

_“De rien, mon ombre.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this brings the story to an end! The next chapter isn't part of the plot - my girlfriend and I thought it would be cool if I posted some of the thought I put into character development in this fic, especially since a few of you mentioned that you liked the way I handled them here! Thank you so much for your encouragement and for reading!


	9. Bonus Content

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First off, I’d like to thank my beta readers. None of this would have come together without your interest and encouragement. And a shoutout to my girlfriend for investing herself in this as much as she did, and for listening as I figured out the storyline and talked through ideas. This is a collection of some of my musings on Sombra and Widowmaker’s characterization through writing this fic! Enjoy!

**The Argument - My discussion of the characters**  
I thought of a minor change to the argument dialogue that puts a lot more bite into it

Original: “Leave then. Take your chance. Forgive me, Widowmaker, if I don’t want to end up like you.”

Changed: “Leave then. Take your chance. Forgive me, Mrs Lacroix, if I don’t want to end up like you.”

Because she isn’t trying to address Widowmaker here, necessarily. She’s directly referring to who Widowmaker was BEFORE she was stripped down and rebuilt into that role. And this has a completely different meaning from the reconciliation conversation where Sombra thanks Widowmaker and calls her Amélie - rather than using Widowmaker’s real name/previous identity to mock her, she’s using it to recognize the few shreds of humanity (or whatever the fuck it is we need to make these romance fics work, honestly) that are still left in her. And she’s doing this at the same time she’s working past her own defenses and actively choosing not to shut Widowmaker out completely after feeling betrayed, which ties back into showing that while both of them have been forcibly ripped out of their previous lives, they still have pieces of themselves that tie back to their pasts. For Widowmaker it’s her own shadow, shown through her regret in this fic and also somewhat canonically with that comic panel showing her with her husband’s grave. For Sombra it’s a desire for community, pulled from her past involvement in Los Muertos and the fact that it’s been hinted she considers Reaper and Widowmaker to be genuine friends in a complicated way. And while they don’t need these respective parts of themselves (in fact it makes things a little harder for them emotionally speaking), they still choose to recognize them

\---

**Word Choice - Why I brought up Gérard at the end of Chapter 6**  
I used it specifically for the comparison between Widowmaker’s paramours - Widowmaker never got closure with Gérard. Not any real closure. She was brainwashed and emotionally stunted so it wouldn't be a problem. But with Sombra, if she wants to save whatever this is starting to be to her, she needs to learn how to address it, first off. And she probably also needs to figure out how to begin to recognize her need to connect at more than arm's length. In other words she needs to find a way to reclaim the barest base of the emotional capability that was stolen from her in order to turn her into who she currently is. And I doubt it's something I could ever genuinely write her as having recovered fully, but having someone as vivacious as Sombra an active part of her life is a start

\---

**Location and Nostalgia - Dialogue between my girlfriend and I**  
Pisces: I'm still not sure where to place their safehouse. I kept imagining somewhere lowkey in Dorado. Los Muertos owes Sombra some favors so they keep a place on standby for her whenever she's in town

Scorpio <3: Oooooh yessss. And like, the chance to see the place that shaped Sombra

Pisces: They know that's where she's from, but it isn't until later on that they start to see how she actually interacts with the place

Scorpio <3: And like, it drawing out another side of Reaper, it being so similar to his own home land

Pisces: LumeriCo is still more or less a mild presence after she scared it off to the background. The street gangs don't scare her of course, she was practically raised in one. She often talks about the importance of rebuilding in the context of self, but it's directly connected to Dorado's failing infrastructure following the Omnic Crisis and how it directly impacted her. She built herself up from nothing twice, after all. The first was growing up after the crisis and trying to find a niche she could work in. The second was after she was threatened and reinvented herself

Scorpio <3: Yeee. But I'm still stuck on like. Reaper just kinda pausing at the sight of certain wild flowers because hey those grew by his childhood home. And the smell in the air in the evening, the way the sun hits the mountains just right, familiar words on streets signs and just an overflow of his native language

Pisces: Familiar food, too

Scorpio <3: Just like imagine how much it could impact him. Cause they're hiding out, there's not really anything urgent to do, so all he can really do is take everything in and remember  
Pisces: I already utilize Reaper being a nostalgic fuck with parallels between Sombra and Widowmaker's argument with his and Solider:76's. I can throw some stuff about heritage nostalgia too. "I think being back here is dragging too much of your past out. The Reaper isn't supposed to be sentimental."

\---

**Early Musings - Back when this fic was just a concept!** Some parts of the Talon squad I wanted to explore, not all of which I got to but may look at with more depth in the future?  
And then also potential exploration with the name vs alias thing. Sombra knows Reaper and Widowmaker's names and stories, they've talked about it a few times because clearly both Reaper and WM are heavily defined by traumas of their past and it isn't something I imagine they could let go of easily (even with Talon's mental conditioning). They ask her about hers, and she just shrugs and says that girl died a long time ago. She isn't the person she was born as, so why pretend any differently?

But the other two are different. There are pieces in them that pine for things to be the way they were before, no matter how futile a wish it is. Sombra's focus isn't on restoring what she lost the way it once was, but moving forward and really learning the truth to what’s going on in the world that allows shit like what affected her life to happen  
And I think that also has a huge part to do with the fact that there was no ‘before’ for Sombra. Her wiki lists her as 30 years old and the Omnic Crisis is listed as taking place about 30 years ago. There is no ‘before’, there is no memory of family, right from the start she’s faced with instability and as soon as she figures out how she can actually do something to push against corruption of authority in post-crisis Dorado, she’s targeted for it

And also making Sombra more relatable to them. Gabriel and Amélie have their traumas, and they aren't secrets. It's obvious to them that Sombra is hurting too, it's just that her pain hasn't been recorded and filed away as a report of proceedings. The most they know of what happened to her pre-Sombra could have happened to anyone. Her circumstances aren't special, but the way she rose from the tragedy is what makes her stand out


End file.
